Attachment for beds



0. SMITH- ATTACHMENT FOR maps Filed Nov. 7, 1930 'Mhy 12, 1931.

iatented May 12, 1931 OAKLEY SMITH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS ATTACHMENT FOR BEDS Application filed November 7, 1930. Serial No. 494,008.

My present invention has relation to the provision of attachments for beds, and more particularly of attachments which may readily be packed in a small package and easily transported from place to place, and which attachments may readily be assembled with an ordinary bedstead, springs and mattress so as to render an ordinary bed suitable for the administration to a patient of a treatment involving manipulative therapy.

A general manipulative treatment involves the stretching of the ligamentous connections present at the skeletal articulations and particularly the ligamenoous connections between the vertebrae of the spine.

It is at present deemed necessary in administering such a treatment to support the body substantially at spaced intervals, say across the hips and chest and chin, between which 7 a, supported portions the body may be depressed in order to secure the necessary stretching of the ligaments and other tissues.

At present, so far as is known, it is the universal practice to employ a treatment table aifording substantial spaced supports at or about the positions above noted, over which table is placed a cushion or mattress upon which the patient lies. While such a table is not only necessary but convenient at a g doctors ofiice or hospital or other place for administering treatment, it is an extremely awkward piece of furniture to convey to a patients residence and not infrequently it would be advantageous to treat the patient at his or her residence if a suitable table or other appropriate facilities for such treatment were at hand. At times it is absolutely necessary, if a treatment is to be administered, to treat the patient in the bed in which he is confined by reason of his disabilities. An ordinary bed is wholly unsuitable for administering such a treatment as there are, gener ally speaking, no means for rendering desired portions of the bed relatively rigid.

My attachments, hereinafter described, are so designed that the doctor may readily take the same to the patients residence and assemble them with an ordinary bed so as to render certain desired spaced portions therei of relatively rigid and thereby produce con ditions suitable for the administration of a general manipulative treatment..

I have attained the foregoing objects and results by means of the structure illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a plan of an ordinary, bed with my attachments applied thereto.

7 2 is a fragmental cross section showing the relation of mattress, springs and attachment when the attachment is in assembled operative position.

Fig. 3 is a plan of a nest of three of my bed attachments arranged for convenient transportation to the patients house. i

Fig. 4 is aperspective of the center'attachment of the nest shown in Fig. 8.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the respective views.

Each attachment comprises a U-shaped bracket 5, preferably of metal and of suitable dimensions, that is, width and thickness, to secure the necessary rigidity. The arms of the U-shaped bracket 5 are sufficiently separated to accommodate therebetween the spring structure 6 now generallyv forming a part of an ordinary bed equipment. One arm, 7 ,of the U-shaped bracket is sufficiently long to aiford necessary rigidity transversely of the body of the patient. The opposite arm 8 may conveniently be made shorter than the arm 7, and the inner end of the arm 8 is bored and tapped, and may also advantageously be supplied with an interiorly threaded collar 9 to receive the threaded end of a leg 10, the lower end of which is either given a ball form 11 or provided with a spherical surface to easily slip over the fioor or carpet.

When the arms 7 and 8 have been adjusted with respect to the spring structure 6 and mattress 12, as shown in Fig. 2, the leg 10 is screwed out until it engages the floor with suflicient firmness.

The U-shaped brackets are preferably made in sets of three with graduated reductions in thickness to nest, as shown in Fig. 3, and the arms 8 of the intermediate and inner bracket of the nest are bored, as at 13 and 14, to accommodate the inner ends of the legs of the intermediate and outer bracket so that the three brackets, when nested as shown in Fig. 3, will occupy but little space and may easily be taken by the practitioner to the patients residence. The brackets are arranged substantially as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, whereby when the patient is placed adjacent one edge of the bed his body will find substantial support at spaced intervals which will permit of portions of the body between the supports being depressed and the ligamentous connections at therarticulations of the body stretched.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: 1. An attachment for a bed comprising a vu sha'pedstructure, the unattached end of one arm whereof is provided with an adjustable-leg, whereby the other arm of said U- -i-shaped structure may be inserted transverse ly of the mattress of a bed and the leg adjusted to provide relative stability to the supported area of the mattress.

2. An attachment for a bed comprising a U-shaped structure, the unattached end of one arm whereof is bored and tapped and a threaded leg co-operating with said tapped bore whereby the other arm of said U-shaped structure may be inserted transversely of the mattressof a bed and the leg adjusted to provide relative stability to the supported area of the mattress. Y

3; Attachments for beds comprising a plurality of U-shaped structures proportioned to nest one within the other, the unattached end of one arm of each of said Ushaped structures being provided with an adjustable leg, whereby the other arms of said U-shaped structures may be inserted transversely of a mattress at spaced intervals and the legs adjustj 40 ed to secure relative stability of the supported areas.

OAKLEY SMITH. 

